ABSTRACT
The transition on social capital is a transition from the intrapersonal to the prominence interpersonal relations play in an ecological model of health. What has been underappreciated in the extensive body of knowledge on the importance of interpersonal relations to health is how the physical environment can facilitate or hinder social capital, which has continually been shown to have a positive influence on both physical and mental health and well-being. The significance of social capital to health is evident when it is compared to other behaviors and conditions more commonly associated with an increased risk of mortality. Robert Putnam has been credited with finding that "poor social capital is as bad as or worse than smoking, obesity, elevated blood pressure, or physical inactivity for human health", and a more recent meta-analysis appears to support this claim.
